Natural Bridge State Park, VA

Natural Bridge State Park, VA – 2 miles – 10/27/18

Driving through the mountains of Virginia on a pretty fall day

Is there an icon of your hometown or home state that you have never seen with your own eyes, although friends and family members and practically the rest of the whole darn world have?  Of course – probably more than one. My husband Jim grew up in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty but has never been inside.  Our daughter’s significant other grew up in Barcelona, Spain and had never been inside La Sagrada Familia until we visited this year.

I grew up in Virginia, chockful of famous and historic stuff, and thanks to the public school system I rode a big yellow bus to see Colonial Williamsburg with all the other third graders.  (My mom saw it for the first time when we took her and our kids in the ‘90s.)

Yes, I grew up in Virginia but I’ve never been to Natural Bridge. I’ve seen hundreds of postcards and pictures of this state treasure (from all those other folks who visited). [If you’ve never heard of Natural Bridge, perhaps you are a few centuries behind. It’s one of America's oldest tourist attractions. During the 18th and 19th centuries, it was one of the two most popular sights for European visitors, ranking with Niagara Falls.]

Jim and I made a multi-purpose sojourn to the mountains of Virginia, beginning with Virginia Tech football and then visiting family and friends. Driving from Afton to Roanoke on a spectacularly clear fall day, after 24 hours of drenching rain, we stopped by to see what all the fuss was about.

[Side note: en route, crossing the Maury River on a small bridge near Glasgow, I saw a large low-flying bird following along the river – dark wings and a white triangle shaped tail – a bald eagle!]

Natural Bridge sits in Rockbridge County (yes, named after it) at the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley, flanked by the Blue Ridge Mountains. Cedar Creek, a small tributary of the James River, once flowed through the gorge that included a cave, eventually causing its collapse and remaining roof portion that became known as Natural Bridge.  It is 215 feet tall, 90 feet wide and 40 to 50 feet thick, and has a 100-foot span. Seeing a person standing at its base demonstrates its massive scale.

In human history, Natural Bridge was once a sacred site of the Native American Monacan tribe and then the British came along.  Allegedly George Washington surveyed at the site in 1750.  In fact, in 1774 Thomas Jefferson purchased the bridge and surrounding acreage from King George III and built a two-room log cabin as a retreat. It was privately owned by one person or another until it became a state park in 2016 (finally, VA!) Learn more about the area and see better photos here.

The visitor center is massive for catering to large crowds, but wasn't busy when Jim and I passed through. There is a fee and maps for a self-guided walk.  Cedar Creek Trail is slightly less than a mile long and passes under Natural Bridge and on to lots more cool stuff.

Rows of wooden benches facing the bridge for the nightly “Drama of Creation” light shows

Past the bridge, the Cedar Creek Trail continues to the Monacan Native American living history exhibit featuring interpreters and full-scale examples of village structures. This exhibit impressed me even more than the bridge. It is well researched and the interpreters bring it to life, inviting everyone to touch and experience and ask questions.

Communal cooking area

Roundhouse, single family dwelling called an “ati”

Past the village, Cedar Creek Trail passes a saltpeter cave open in summer that was mined for making gunpowder during the War of 1812 and the American Civil War (as was Alum Cave in the Great Smoky Mountains). You can get on down in there past where Jim is standing in the photo below. The cave is closed in winter for hibernating bats.

Cedar Creek Trail ends at a viewpoint of 50-foot Lace Falls, at the far end of Jefferon's acreage that included Natural Bridge. I was glad to see that the trail didn’t go all the way to the waterfall, leaving it undisturbed (although someone has probably found a way to bushwhack to it). I spotted a great blue heron sitting camouflaged on the riverbank.  

  

If you’re going to Natural Bridge, allow at least a few hours well worth the time (if you’re a gift shop lover, it’s huge). Check for the timing of interpretative talks and that awesome light show. Spend the whole day and explore the other trails too. 

Jim and I continued on our way to visit friends in Roanoke, VA, who showed us the view from the city’s famous Roanoke Star on top of Mill Mountain. 

Dora, the kitty cat who owns our human friends in Roanoke.  How cute is she???

"In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this." ~Terry Pratchett